Tucson mostly good
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2/4/2006
I have lived in Marana (just NW of Tucson) for 6 years. We moved here as naive kids from Oklahoma and at first, we hated it...people seemed rude and the hispanic influence shocked us. But with time and maturity we love the culture and the food...and the town. The people are still rude as compared to OK or Texas, there is no southern hospitality, no small-talk or helpful neighbors...no chit-chat at the grocery store...but the lack of black/hispanic/white racial tension & conservative religion makes it much easier for us to live here. You don't have the same predjudices and I love that. The alternative lifestyle is great and we have grown to love the easy access to alternative medicine, art, and culture. Tucson has lots of art and organic farmer's markets, there is a steady influx of forward thinking medicine. I love that! There are a lot of hobos but they are harmless. The weather in the summer is terribly hot and if you have small kids that sucks because you are confined indoors from 10am-3pm. Arizona public schools are often not good, but there are tons of charter schools that offer a very diverse set of options, (montessori, waldorf, satori, you name it) public schools are ok if you live in the right district, but only ok. Traffic & infrastructure is locked up. There is only one freeway and it doesn't provide access to much so you are locked into your neighborhood or you drive for 45 minutes across town stopping at a light every 1/2 mile. You get used to it or you stay home. After a while you can learn what part of town interests you the most and move there. Central town is near the University and all the kids and academia...it is diverse and interesting but expensive. Downtown is weird and scary to me...lots of hobos, but historical and architectually interesting. South is the lower income area. Northeast is the multi-million dollar homes where the rich and famous live...very beautiful mountainside homes. There is a TON of new development in the outskirts to the NW and SE and this is a constant nuisance where we live. New people are moving here every single day and that is annoying to me. I want to move to a more established part of town. The town is friendly, open and liberal. The often slow development is caused by many involved and protesting residents and very restrictive growth policy. The population experiences a huge shift in the winter because of numerous "snow-birds" that winter here from other states. This high population of reti
Katie | Marana, AZ